At Su Wan’s call, Liu Xiaolou scratched his head and walked over. “Ninth Lady, what brings you here?”

She shot him a look. “If I hadn’t come, could you have blocked that sword?”

Liu Xiaolou chuckled. “Anyone who dares to kill on Wulong Mountain must be tired of living. We were just about to swarm him anyway. The moment he struck first, there was no chance he’d leave this mountain alive.”

“So in the end, I was just meddling?” Su Wan said crossly.

Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “Of course not. That guy was still a skilled sword cultivator, already at the peak of Qi Refinement. Sure, he was doomed from the start, but even so, our brothers here on Wulong Mountain would’ve taken some wounds. I was already prepared to get badly hurt myself. But with you stepping in, I don’t have to shed a drop of blood. That’s a debt I owe you, Ninth Lady.”

Su Wan glanced at the corpse lying among the crowd and gave a cold snort. “A skilled sword cultivator?”

Liu Xiaolou laughed. “For us, that counts as a master. But of course in your eyes, he’s not worth mentioning. Ninth Lady, your flying sword cut him down and shook the Wulong Mountain. That strike was really impressive!”

Su Wan studied Liu Xiaolou for a moment. “Since leaving Shenwu Mountain, you seem a lot happier. You even smile more than you used to.”

Liu Xiaolou let out a sigh. “Shenwu Mountain may be fine and all, but it’s stifling. It’s not a place for someone like me. I was never worthy of it.”

Tan Bajhang was on familiar terms with Su Wan. Those days on Shenwu Mountain had been rough, and she was the only one he actually liked. So when she appeared, he hurried over, grinning. “Ninth Lady’s here! Tonight we’ve got to hold a big feast. What should we do with the body?”

Su Wan frowned. “Forget the feast. As for the body, handle it however you see fit. I don’t care.”

“What do you think, Xiaolou?” Tan Bajhang asked again. “I’ve already discussed it with Zuo Gaofeng. How about we send the body to the Zhanglong Sect? There’s a reward for it.”

Liu Xiaolou nodded. “That’s what I was thinking too.”

Tan Bajhang grinned. “Good, then that’s settled. Xiaolou, leave this matter to us. You take Ninth Lady around Wulong Mountain. We’ll take care of business first, and tonight we’ll set the feast at Qianzhu Ridge!”

Su Wan was about to refuse, but Liu Xiaolou said, “Keep it small. Just a few close brothers will do.”

Since Liu Xiaolou had agreed, she didn’t press the matter further.

Tan Bajhang then returned to the crowd, calling over Li Busan and Fang Bu'ai to take care of the body. Together with Zuo Gaofeng, he set off for the Zhanglong Sect to claim the reward.

For Wulong Mountain, this was no small matter. It had already been confirmed that Wu Zhuzi was most likely from Gengsang Cave. Killing someone from Gengsang was no trivial affair. They naturally had to report it to the Zhanglong Sect and ask the sect to back them up.

What the eventual response might be, whether Qingyu Sect, Dongyang Sect, Tianmu Mountain, or even Pingdu Eight Formations Gate would get involved, and how they might get involved... that was no concern of Wulong Mountain’s. At the very least, Wulong Mountain wouldn’t have to face Gengsang Cave’s wrath alone.

Meanwhile, Daoist Hu Du was hemmed in by the others at the steps of the Gourd Temple, babbling excuses. “I really had no choice. I could handle Gengsang Cave’s punishments, but planting a worm inside my belly... there was no way I could stand that. Fellow cultivators, please let me off. I didn’t want this either. Daoist Jiang, think about it. If they fed you one of those worms, and they told you to do something, would you dare disobey? You couldn’t, could you?”

Jiang Feihu let out a sigh. “Forget it. We’re all fellow cultivators. Back then, you answered the call and charged into battle with me. Fine, fine. Everyone saw Old Hu Du spit out that worm; he was being forced.”

Right away someone shot back, “Forget it? Says who? It’s not up to him, and it’s not up to you either, Feihu. Let’s ask Xiaolou.”

Jiang Feihu glared. “Ask him what for? He’s already gone! Off with the beauty, strolling the mountains and rivers!”

Someone laughed. “Bajhang said it himself; that’s the ninth young lady of the Su family from Shenwu Mountain. If you’ve got the guts, go find one like her. If you’ve got the skill to spend your days roaming around with a lady like that, we’d all tip our hats to you!”

The crowd quickly joined in with teasing. “Don’t forget, she’s Foundation Establishment!”

“Heavens, just imagine wandering the hills with a highborn Foundation Establishment cultivator. What could be better?”

“Brother, I heard the Sanxuan Sect is famous for their dual cultivation arts. Heh, heh.”

“Even better!”

“Now I get it. So that’s why Xiaolou ended up divorced. Just another case of sisters fighting among themselves.”

“That's the way it is. You squabble, you make peace. Sisters can fight like cats and dogs, but they always find their way back to each other.”

“Shh, keep it down. Some truths are better left unsaid…”

The laughter and noise all around didn’t disturb Liu Xiaolou and Su Wan as they strolled through Wulong Mountain.

“This here is Jade Maiden Peak, see it? And that’s Maiden Cave. We’ve got a senior lady cultivator in Wulong Mountain, goes by the name Fairy Huang Ye. She cultivates inside there. Want to pay her a visit? Her hometown’s not far from Shenwu Mountain, so you could say she’s a fellow local.”

“No.”

“All right then. This is Dragon Horse Falls, and over there is the cave estate of Tan Bajhang. Haha, just three little bamboo huts. Pretty rough, huh? But we can’t just go building fancy dwellings. First, we don’t have much money. Second, the sects could come to wipe us out any time, and the nicer the place, the more it hurts when it all gets burned down. Actually, Bajhang’s a good guy, you know that. Righteous! He just misjudged things. You know why he left Shenwu Mountain, don’t you? I told you before, right?”

“Xiaomei already had someone she cared for. He shouldn’t have made a move so recklessly. At the very least, he ought to have told me. If I’d known, I surely would have stopped him.”

“True enough. Even if she didn’t already have someone she loved, she probably still wouldn’t have agreed, right?”

“Xiaolou.”

“Mm?”

“Do you… still hold a grudge against my family?”

“A grudge? I wouldn’t put it that way… Looking back now, in those three years at the Su household, I actually gained a lot. At the very least, I didn’t have to worry about resources for cultivation. Besides the monthly spirit stone, I got to know your relatives, your family’s allies, and the vassal clans. Earning spirit stones wasn’t hard at all. But with gains always come losses. Given my background, it was only natural the Su family looked down on me.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what? There’s no need for that.”

“I mean… back then, before Father wrote you the letter of dismissal, he asked me what I thought. And I stayed silent…I really am sorry.”

“…It’s nothing. I was just a little surprised. I remember Butler Song saying that in the Su family, some wanted me to stay and others wanted me gone. I always thought you were one of the ones who wanted me to stay. Heh… but it’s fine. I left because I wanted to. I was just tired…”

“You helped me so much. I should have tried harder to keep you… but the more I thought about it, being a live-in son-in-law really isn’t a good position. If it went on like that, it would have hurt your reputation…”

“Ninth Lady, for us people from Wulong Mountain, when have we ever cared about reputation? Haha… Of course, I don’t mean to blame you for anything…”

“Even so, I still think leaving the Su family was the best thing for you.”

“Whether it was good or not, I’m gone now. And honestly, I feel free. So, you came all the way to Wulong Mountain just to apologize? There’s no need for that, Ninth Lady… Oh, right; this here is Half-Acre Gorge. It’s Brother Zuo’s territory. Have I ever told you he’s one of my closest friends here in Wulong Mountain?”

“No, you haven’t.”

“Later we’ll head over to Ghostdream Cliff. One of my closest friends isn’t on Wulong Mountain anymore. His life has been a lot like mine.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, right. Not long ago, when I went south, I ran into a woman in the mountains. She looked about thirty. It was raining and she came running over to take shelter. She mistook me for Jingzhao and tried to kill me. Scared me half to death!”

“Huh? You didn’t end up fighting, did you?”

“No. I wouldn’t stand a chance against someone willing to go after Jingzhao. I quickly turned my head so she could see my face clearly. Once she realized I wasn’t him, she stopped. Honestly, I was nearly dragged into trouble just because of that Jingzhao.”

“Ha… although that doesn’t necessarily mean her cultivation is all that high.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t get it. A woman who dares to attack Jingzhao isn’t necessarily relying on her cultivation.”

“Fair point… Still, she used a flying sword. She’s definitely way stronger than me.”

“Your cultivation’s way too low. Running all over the place when you’re only at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement… In our Su family, no one’s allowed out to travel until they’ve at least reached the tenth layer.”

“What can I do? Cultivation is tough. If I don’t push myself, how will I ever get anywhere? Spirit stones don’t just fall from the sky…”

After wandering around a few scenic spots near Qianzhu Ridge, it was already getting late. Liu Xiaolou brought Su Wan back to the ridge. The moment Big White caught sight of her, it let out two panicked squawks, flapped its wings, shot up to a treetop, and vanished.

Liu Xiaolou burst out laughing. “See? You really left quite an impression on it back then!”

Su Wan laughed too. “Well, it kept sneaking into the back mountain to steal food. I caught it at least three times.”

That night, a banquet was set on Qianzhu Ridge. Plenty of people wanted to join in the fun, but only Tan Bajhang, Zuo Gaofeng, Dragon Mountain Wanderer, and Huang Ye Xian were allowed a seat at the table. Fang Bu’ai and Li Busan, on the other hand, ran around serving food and drinks.

During the feast, Su Wan said to Tan Bajhang, “That day, you were really wronged. I wasn’t home… otherwise it never would have happened.”

Tan Bajhang smiled. “You’re different from the rest of the Su clan, Ninth Lady. I don’t hold it against you.”